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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28791108">Beacon Hills is a Peculiar Place</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermalfoy/pseuds/silvermalfoy'>silvermalfoy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Wolf (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Beacon Hills Preserve (Teen Wolf), Before the Dread Doctors, Gen, Hurt Theo Raeken, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Canon, The Sheriff Listens, Theo Opens Up, Theo is Missing, Theo's Backstory, Verbal Abuse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:22:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,670</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28791108</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermalfoy/pseuds/silvermalfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As the McCall Pack gets rid of yet another creature wrecking havoc in the town, Theo disappears. The Sheriff is the one to find him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Theo Raeken &amp; Sheriff Stilinski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beacon Hills is a Peculiar Place</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I can't express how self-indulgent this is. I always loved the idea of Tara being the best sister to ever exist and Theo having to face her even once after everything, even though she's like . dead. I also really like exploring relationships - both romantic and platonic, canon or not - and one I particularly like is between the Sheriff and Theo. So yeah, once again, very self-indulgent but I hope you will enjoy it as much as I liked writing it. I don't know yet if I will write a sequel. Maybe make it a series slice of life-like for post-canon Theo learning to own up to his mistakes and forgiving himself? I don't know, you tell me.</p><p>Anyways, enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Sheriff swore as he tripped yet again on a root, his annoyance rising. It’s not that he disliked being in the Preserve. Like most, he enjoyed a nice walk, surrounded by the trees and the birds singing. It was refreshing and helped him clear his head in the afternoon after a busy week at the station, right before going home and starting the weekend. Except that it wasn’t the afternoon. And it wasn’t Friday. It was six in the freaking morning, on a Sunday, and he had been walking for two hours out of any paths, which means all he had been doing was tripping over random roots and stones. All in all, the Sheriff was done.</p><p>But he wasn’t leaving. He wouldn’t leave until he had found Theo. Not only because Liam would probably rip his throat out if he dared said he stopped looking for the chimera out of tiredness – he wished he were exaggerating, but without his anchor around, and reported missing at that, the kid was quite… unstable – but mostly because he, too, was worried.</p><p>Theo hadn’t been seen since Friday night. The pack had been taking care of some creatures that was causing issues in the town – you know, like usual supernatural teenagers on a Friday night. From what the Sheriff had understood from Stiles’ rambling, the creature was some sort of mind manipulator that made its victim face their biggest regret while it fed on their shame, guilt and fear. Nasty thing was it. He hadn’t understood exactly how they were supposed to get rid of it, all he knew was that it involved trapping it somewhere and pour a Deaton’s concoction over its eyes.</p><p>The pack had meant it to be a collective effort, but the thing had run away. Theo had been the one chasing and catching it. The kid had started to train with Argent recently, for whatever reasons. Which means that his already impressive skills, physical strength and stamina had tripled. He was by far the fastest among the group, so he had quickly been way ahead of the rest of the pack and had the time to kill the thing before they even made it there. Correction: kill it and disappear.</p><p>They had all been a panicked mess from then, all of them scared over what could have happened to the chimera, if he were injured somewhere. Except that about half an hour later, Scott received a text from Theo that simply said ‘I’m okay. Go home.’ Of course, it had been far from enough for the pack, especially Liam, Corey and Alec, who had taken on spamming him with messages, but he replied to none. In the end, as the sun was starting to rise and they still didn’t see any trace of Theo, Scott decided to follow his advice and send everyone home.</p><p>It had taken a lot of convincing for the younger members, but they had reluctantly agreed in the end and everyone had crashed at Melissa’s house, like they always did after an eventful night, assuming that Theo would be back in the morning.</p><p>He wasn’t. Neither was he later that day. Liam’s annoyance – worry – had turned into straight up anger – panic – which had been the last push everyone needed to start looking for the young man. That was why the Sheriff was currently in the Preserve, at six in the morning on a Sunday, tripping over roots and swearing like a sailor.</p><p> Half an hour passed by and the Sheriff stopped, sighing heavily in irritation after yet another fall. Still no trace of the chimera, and by how silent his radio had been, the others hadn’t been much luckier. He decided on a little break, as years of hunting down criminals had taught him that when he was that irritated and tired, he would be too distracted to notice even the most obvious clues.</p><p>He looked up and took a deep breath, momentarily putting his goal aside to let the pleasant atmosphere of the awaking forest wash over him. Although he would by far prefer being in his bed and listen to Stiles swear as much as the Sheriff had for the past hours, as the clumsy man attempted – and failed – to make breakfast, he couldn’t deny the atmosphere in the morning was pretty nice.</p><p>As he calmed down, he picked on the sound of water. A river, maybe? That would be nice. Careful to not trip over anything and make his irritation rise again, the Sheriff made his way towards the sound. Except that as he pushed the last bushes that hid the river from his view, there was Theo. The Sheriff stopped right in his track and starred at the boy for a few seconds, taken aback.</p><p>The chimera was sitting cross-legged on a wooden bridge, his forehead pressed again the railing as he stared sightlessly into the water. The more the Sheriff observed him, the worse he looked. His hair was an absolute mess, there were heavy bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. The three things that worried the man the most were the following: the stiffness of his posture, which was leading him to believe that Theo had been there for a long time, the unseeing look in his eyes – which, to be honest, made his panic rise incredibly fast for a moment as he wondered if he wasn’t staring at a corpse – and last but definitely not least, the fact that the boy had in no way reacted to the Sheriff’s presence. He couldn’t even tell if Theo was aware he wasn’t alone anymore.</p><p>Something that the older man had noticed long ago was that Theo was always slightly on edge, even though he did a great job at hiding it. The boy favored the corners of rooms so that he could see everything that was happening, his eyes were always darting around, scanning his surroundings and his body always seemed ready to react at whatever cue he could spot. The Sheriff had only ever saw him fully relaxed once, when he had visited Liam’s parents, with who the chimera had been living after a lot of insistence – threats – from the younger werewolf. He had been slouched on the couch as he and Liam played some video games, a lazy smile on his face.</p><p>So, the fact that Theo was so unnaturally still and didn’t react to another presence was pretty telling on how bad he was doing.</p><p>Carefully, the Sheriff let go of the bushes and walked until he found the path that led to the bridge. As he put one foot on the old wood, it creaked. Theo didn’t blink. The man walked the rest of the way until he was standing next to the boy. He never even looked up. Swallowing down the urge to just shake Theo to try and get a reaction out of him, the Sheriff let himself down to the ground with a grunt and sat next to the young man, letting his legs dangle off the bridge.</p><p>It was silent for a while; everything was still except for the water under them. The Sheriff dug into that old brain of his for something to say, as he was fully aware that Theo wouldn’t be the one to break the silence. After a good ten minutes of that, he sighed and teared away his gaze from the other’s face to look around.</p><p>“This is a nice place,” he said.</p><p>And that was true. They were far into the Preserve, so there was only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves and the water streaming down lazily. The sun was soft and hit the surface of the river just the right way, creating a beautiful scenery. The Sheriff would try to remember that place for the next time he went to take a walk on his Fridays.</p><p>Theo didn’t say anything, at first. The Sheriff looked back at him, observing his face. He looked even worse up close. The bags under his eyes were similar to bruises and- were that tear strains on his cheeks?</p><p>God, what had happened to that kid?</p><p>But before the Sheriff could ask, Theo spoke. “She was right there.”</p><p>The human stared at him for a while, trying to make sense of what he had just said. He was about to ask who was that ‘she’, when suddenly, it hit him.</p><p>Tara Raeken had drowned in a river after being rendered immobile by hypothermia a decade prior.</p><p>He took that back. He didn’t want to come back to that place again, and more than anything, he wanted to grab Theo and drag him the hell away from that place. Why would he even come back there? That place couldn’t be associated with any kind of good memories.</p><p>But, at the same time, with the state he was in, the Sheriff doubted Theo had been looking for good memories anyways. Before he could manage to articulate an answer, the chimera continued speaking.</p><p>“And I was right there, watching her as she begged me to help her out. It’s incredibly ironic, in a way, because she never once asked for my help. She was always the one providing it. But the one time where she needed me to do the same for her, I didn’t. I sat there and watched my sister die, then watched as some crazy scientists took out my heart and replaced it with hers. Without even an ounce of remorse.”</p><p>The Sheriff didn’t even attempt to talk, this time. Clearly, Theo wasn’t expecting – nor wanting, honestly – any kind of answer. He sat and listened, trying to tame down the shivers crawling up his spin at the terrible scenes the chimera was painting.</p><p>“My parents despised me,” he continued. “They had never wanted a second child; their Tara was more than enough. But my mother accidently got pregnant, and Tara begged for a younger sibling, so they didn’t abort; only in the goal of pleasing their adored child. The thing they had seemed to forget was that keeping me meant taking care of me, which they were clearly not very keen on doing. When they weren’t reminding me of how much of a waste of money and space I was, how I would take away what should go to Tara – as in the food or other necessities – they would forget about me.</p><p>“The only reason I didn’t starve was Tara. She… she never forgot about me. Not even once. Actually, it looked like I was constantly the first thing on her mind. She would always go look for me at mealtimes and make our parents serve me first. She would always insist on making me tag along when they were going out for ‘family time’. She would always make hand-made gifts for my birthday and would find a way to get my favorite snacks as substitute for a birthday cake, as my parents obviously didn’t waste their time on celebrating that day.</p><p>“She loved me beyond words. She loved me, cared for me, protected me, did everything in her goddamned power to make me happy. And instead of being grateful, it made me hate her. God, I hated her so much. She was always praised for being such a good student and excelling in whatever she would engage in. She was perfect; so perfect, I felt like she was doing it on purpose to make me feel even more worthless. I felt like all her acts of love and kindness were her way to say ‘I’m so much better than you’.</p><p>“So, when the Doctors approached me, it was simply perfect. I would become so powerful and could get rid of that atrociously perfect sister of mine. I would prove myself to be so incredible, my parents would start loving me and would forget all about Tara. That’s what went on in my nine-year-old’s mind. That’s what went on as I watched the only person who had ever unconditionally loved me die.”</p><p>Theo’s voice broke on that last word. The Sheriff watched as a single tear made its way down his cheek, speechless. Back when Scott, Stiles and Theo had been friends, he had known that Theo’s relationship with his parents wasn’t the best. He had noticed that his parents obviously favored their other child, but never would he have thought it went to that extent. Anger started bubbling inside of him. How could he have missed that?</p><p>“She’s not mad at me, you know.” The Sheriff focused back on Theo. He frowned, and the chimera seemed to sense his confusion. “Beacon Hills is such a peculiar place, even after death. Those who don’t want to leave for the afterlife just yet can continue to exist in the Nemeton’s magic. That creature, as it was dying, I met its eyes by accident. It acted like a bridge between the Nemeton and my mind. I didn’t just see Tara, I talked to her. It was truly her.”</p><p>The Sheriff’s breath itched. That explained why Theo had ran off right after and had disappeared for a whole day, only to be found looking like a mess. That explained why he was telling him all about Tara and what had happened in that place. Saying that the chimera was probably shaken up would be the understatement of the goddamn century.</p><p>“What did she say?” the Sheriff softly asked.</p><p>“That she loved me and always would,” Theo whispered, closing his eyes as another tear followed the previous one. “That she just wanted to understand why. And when I told her… she cried. Because she felt like she had failed me in a way. She felt responsible because I fucking killed her by jealousy and for fucking power.” Theo let out a bitter and painful sounding laugh that made the other man wince. “She said that she watched as all that fiasco of me trying to take over the pack happened, and that all she had ever wished for during that time was that I would make use of her heart and try to find the love she carried for me all her life inside of it. That I would use that piece of humanity beating inside my chest to find back my own.”</p><p>Theo stopped talking for a minute, desperately trying to keep his voice steady. The Sheriff didn’t rush him. All hell could break lose right now that he wouldn’t try to hurry him in any way. When the boy spoke again, his voice was rough. “The last thing she told me was that she forgave me and that her only and last wish was for me to forgive myself. That only then would she feel at peace and finally leave.”</p><p>Silence settled above them. The Sheriff didn’t even know what to say – if there was even anything to say. He had come up with all kind of scenarios between his tripping to explain what could have led Theo to disappear like that, and he hadn’t even gotten close. But honestly, who could have even imagined something like that?</p><p>“Only in Beacon Hills you could see this kind of shit happen,” the Sheriff whispered, only realizing he had talked out loud when Theo snorted. The chimera slowly opened his eyes, but instead of going back to staring at where Tara had stood so many years ago, he looked towards the sky. He frowned.</p><p>“What time is it?” he asked.</p><p>It was the Sheriff’s turn to snort. “More like what day.”</p><p>For what the man assumed was the first time since he had gotten there, Theo moved. That theory was confirmed as he winced and grunted in pain. “What the hell?” the chimera whispered as he seemed to crack more bones than should be there as he tilted his head from one side to the other.</p><p>“We are Sunday morning, Theo. And Argent is pretty pissed at you for missing your training session on Saturday.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Feedbacks are welcome! Both positive and negative, although if it's the latter, please make sure it's a constuctive criticism and not just harsh words.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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